FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a plug connector having a two-part housing formed of a cover and a housing lower part. The housing lower part has a plug body containing plug contacts and the cover has an underneath side with grooves formed therein. A connecting cable having insulated individual conductors is connected to the plug contacts via insulation displacement connection (IDC) technology. At least one group of IDC contacts each having an insulation-piercing terminal slot formed therein and fixed in the housing lower part transversely with respect to the insulated individual conductors and the grooves. The grooves run in an insertion direction facing the housing lower part in a region which corresponds roughly to a region with the at least one group of IDC contacts.
German Utility Model DE-U 87 13 046 discloses a plug connector which has a two-part housing including a housing lower part and a cover. A metallic plug body, to which a shielded round cable has already been connected, is inserted into the housing lower part. Furthermore, shielding plates are inserted into the housing parts and, when the housing parts are joined together, they are electrically conducively connected, by making contact with the metallic plug body and to the shield of the cable. Furthermore, the cover is constructed with pins on its underneath side and the housing lower part has recesses for receiving the pins. The pins and recesses are configured such that, once the cover has been fitted onto the housing lower part, the two housing parts are firmly connected to one another and the housing is closed. In order to make it possible to fasten the entire plug detachably on a mating plug, two screws are provided which are inserted into holes, which run parallel to the insertion direction, in the side walls of the housing lower part. The known plug connector provides no information about the connection of the individual conductors of the shielded cable to the plug pins of the metallic plug body.
European Patent Application EP 0 255 358 A2 as well as Published, Non-Prosecuted German Patent Application DE 195 16 240 A1 disclose further plug connectors which likewise have a housing lower part having a plug body and a connected cable and have a cover which is fastened to the housing lower part by screws. The individual conductors in the cable in the case of the known plug connectors are connected to the contact pins in the plug body before the housing parts are connected. The conductors are connected either by soldering or using the Insulation Displacement Connection (IDC) technique or by contacts that displace the conductor insulation. Individual conductor connections are formed without having to strip the insulation is admittedly provided in the case of both known plug connectors, but this connection also has to be made before the housing parts are connected, so that two separate connection and assembly process steps are required. The process of connecting the individual conductors normally requires the application of a certain amount of force, possibly by a die or via plastic parts and a press. Thus, in both cases, force has to be applied using additional aids during the connection process.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,079 discloses a connector for a ribbon cable which has a large number of individual conductors. The connector includes a housing and a cover which can be connected to the housing. Two groups of IDC contacts are provided on the side of the housing facing the cover, disposed transversely with respect to the incoming individual conductors, and are each constructed with an insulation-piercing terminal slot. The underneath side of the cover, facing the housing, is provided in a region that corresponds roughly to the region with the IDC contacts with grooves. The grooves run in the insertion direction of the individual conductors which, when the cover is being fitted onto two pillars in the housing, are pressed into insulation-piercing terminal slots in the IDC contacts and make contact with the IDC contacts.